The Red Death
by GuardianSoulBlade
Summary: Summary: When his parents died, there was something he didn't know. His mother was immortal, after five years in a coma, she returns to her old life, and has an unexpected reunion with the son who should not exist, she is Black Widow and her son is Robin, the Boy Wonder.
1. The Impossible

**The Red Death  
**

**_Summary:_**_ When his parents died, there was something he didn't know. His mother was immortal, after five years in a coma, she returns to her old life, and has an unexpected reunion with the son who should not exist, she is Black Widow and her son is Robin, the Boy Wonder._

**The Impossible**

_She stares at the pregnancy test in awe. Natasha Romanoff has lived so long, and thanks to the Soviets and their experiments, she's infertile. _

_She's supposed to be anyway. _

_Natasha had grown weary, saving the world, constant missions, she needed a reprieve, she'd stepped down from S.H.I.E.L.D., she told herself it'd be a month of travelling, sightseeing, and then she'd go back._

_It'd turned into one year. _

_She'd fallen in love with an acrobat named John Grayson, there was just something about him that drew her to him, and after a six month courtship, they got married and became the Flying Graysons, using her new identity of Mary Elizabeth Lloyd._

_There was one particular night, on their honeymoon that stood out in her mind._

_"I know who you are __Natalia Alianovna Romanova, or is it__ Natasha Romanoff?" John smiled up at her as they lay together in bed. _

_"What gave me away?" Natasha inquired curiously. _

_"Your acrobatics, they say you're one of the best acrobats in the world. I believe what I see."_

_"What do you want to know John?" she lightly touched his cheek._

_"Do you love me?" John Grayson held her gaze. _

_"Love is for children," Natasha replied._

_"Then are you stringing me along? I found all your public information; they say you're a master of seduction."_

_"Really now?" she raised an eyebrow in amusement._

_"It's quite obvious, I'll say that much, since I'm obviously not your first, do I mean anything to you?"_

_"Sex is a tool John, something I use as part of my job, or used to anyway," Natasha glanced over at him; she saw the hurt expression on his face._

_"Then is everything we have a lie? My feelings for you don't matter?" John was crestfallen._

_"No, I love you, so much," she leaned over and kissed him. "I'm happy with you, and I mean that. I wouldn't have married you if I didn't have feelings for you."_

_"I also heard that you're…infertile," John sighed, "I'm sorry."_

_"Don't worry about it, we can always adopt," Natasha chuckled. She couldn't really see herself as a mother._

_"So does this mean we won't have sex?" John pulled her close._

_"John Frederick Grayson, why would you ever think that?" her grin made him smile._

_"I wish you'd stop dying your hair blond, redheads drive me wild!" He rolled her over and leaned in close._

_"Is that so?" Natasha teased, "Just because I can't get pregnant doesn't mean sex is out of the picture."_

_"Good, that's good, now shut up and kiss me!" John laughed, pressing his mouth to hers._

_"I love you John," she murmured in his ear._

_"Same here sweetheart, same here," he replied. "You're amazing you know that. It's not every day a guy's lucky enough to love you, you know that?"_

_"Who's luckier?" Natasha teased him, "Me or you?"_

_"Me, definitely me!" John laughed. He pulled her into his arms. "I'm the luckiest man in the world."_

_She remembered the day she told him she was pregnant, they'd both been overjoyed. She couldn't believe how lucky she was. This new turn in her life was the reward for all her sacrifices._

_A one year in retirement turned into 13 years._

_Dick had been such a good boy, everything she had wanted to be in her life, but couldn't, she knew he'd grow up to be a fine young man, Natasha had often discussed with John when she'd tell him about her old life, they had decided when he was twelve they'd tell him about her. He'd always admired superheroes, whether metahuman or mutant. He'd admired both Batman and the Avengers, she smiled, it made her happy that her son held her colleagues in such high esteem._

_She never got to tell him, she'd planned on revealing the truth to him after their annual show in Gotham City, but the ropes had unexpectedly snapped during their performance._

_This wasn't how her life was supposed to end, but then again, she'd died once already. She knew S.H.I.E.L.D. would take custody of her body, there wasn't any doubt of that, they'd been watching over her, making sure that nothing would interfere with her normal life._

_They reset her broken neck and resuscitated her, there was a heartbeat but she was still unconscious. She didn't move for five years._

_Natasha finally opened her eyes._

_"Hello Nick, how long have I been dead?"_

_"Physically for a week, we revived you but you were still in a coma," Nick Fury explained._

_And how long was I in a coma?" Natasha inquired._

_"Five years, sorry about that," Nick apologized. "I bet you're wondering what happened to your boy."_

_"What happened to Dick?' she asked._

_"Bruce Wayne, Batman took him in and raised him, he became Robin the Boy Wonder and eventually moved to Jump City, California."_

_"So Bruce Wayne huh?" she laughed. "Better him than Tony Stark."_

_"I'm sending you out on a few warm up missions, getting you back at the top of your game, Black Widow, you'll need to be in peak condition for the guy I'm sending you after."_

_"I see, it'll be nice to be back out in the field. Who on the Avengers knows I'm back?"_

_"Stark, Banner, Thor and Rogers, and Logan just them," Nick glanced over at her. "You ready to go Agent Romanoff?"_

_"Just tell me where to go," she smiled at him._

_She'd been on undercover missions for a year, now Nick Fury felt she was ready for what he referred to as "Operation Deathstroke"._

_"Slade Wilson, known as Deathstroke is a mercenary, a maetahuman who was given a super serum similar to Captain America, he's agile, intelligent and very dangerous. S.H.I.E.L.D. wants him brought in dead or alive, preferably alive, we want information on this super serum of his."_

_"Of course, but Nick what about the Teen Titans?" Natasha inquired._

_"You'll handle them, after all, a wise son listens to his mother," Nick Fury grinned. _

_She head out to the chopper. It was time to go._

**Jump City, CA:**

Richard John "Dick" Grayson frowned as he glanced over the evidence in the room.

Slade had been lying low and with just the H.I.V.E. and the other supervillains on ice, things had mainly been robberies and criminal activities perpetrated by civilians.

"Hey Rob, we got a call, down at the laundry mat, someone killed four gangsters and got away," Cyborg informed him.

The Titans made their way down to the laundry mat, Robin could see the dead bodies. Whoever did this was brutal.

"Whoa dude!" Beast Boy exclaimed.

"This is not one of our villains," Starfire observed, villains always stole something or wanted to wipe out the entire city; just a few didn't cut it for them.

Robin approached a young black boy, about 12 years old.

"What happened?" he asked the boy named DeShawn.

"These guys they confronted these hookers," DeShawn looked nervous, "They kept bothering them and then Goldtooth took one of back there and forced her to…"

"Don't finish that, I understand," Robin gritted his teeth. For all the supervillains they took down there were a dozen of these scumbags running around.

Raven was shaking with barely concealed rage. Starfire, Beast Boy and Raven all clenched their fists but remained silent.

"I was just passing by, they started coming after me, said they wanted me to sell drugs, they were gonna kill me, then this guy comes out and hits them over the head with a bottle of Jack Daniels, fights them off with a beer bottle and their own guns, stabs a guy with a one of their knives, breaks everybody's bones and breaks Goldtooth's legs."

"Goldtooth's on the ground screaming fu—"

"Don't finish that, I get the picture," Robin cuts him off.

"Then mystery guy asks Goldtooth, "You know the difference between justice and punishment?" Then he pours the beer on the guy and sets a lighter next to him and walked away. I tried to give him back his tee-shirt, said it had a hole in it."

"What happened after that?" Cyborg asked.

"Hooker that got raped set Goldtooth on fire, not that he didn't deserve that, but she's long gone. Mystery Guy drove away in a white van. Didn't see the license plate though."

"Not that you'd tell me if you did," Robin told him.

"That guy saved me, he's not like you, but he saved me," DeShawn looked over at him.

"The Tee-Shirt, can we see it?" Beast Boy asked.

DeShawn held it up; it was black with a very large, white death skull on it.

"Thank you, now you go home, and stay out of trouble," Robin told him. DeShawn left immediately.

"Robin, that skull, you recognize it, yes?" Starfire asked.

"Yes, anyone who's a vigilante recognizes it, the Punisher," Robin explained. "He's a vigilante who kills criminals."

"I heard his body count is over 1,000," Cyborg glanced over at him.

"How do we stop someone like that?" Raven was nervous, this was bad.

"I heard he likes to go to jail, so he can kill more people," Beast Boy sighed, "It's a no win no matter what we do. Didn't he try to kill Joker once?"

"Yes, Batman stopped him, but he still got away," Robin contemplated what to do. "First we have to find him, and hope the body count doesn't go up."

The Black Widow wore her mission uniform, arriving in Jump City via helicopter. She was dropped off and she began searching for a hotel, she needed to stay somewhere.

Natasha passed by an electronics store, Cooks Electronics, she glanced over at the window. They were playing Disney's Pinocchio on the screen.

_I've got no strings__  
__To hold me down__  
__To make me fret, or make me frown__  
__I had strings__  
__But now I'm free__  
__There are no strings on me_

"I hate that song!" Natasha murmured under her breath; that brought back an unwanted memory. She left and made her way to the hotel.

The hotel receptionist glanced over at her, "I"ll be booking this room under—"

"Nancy Rushman," she replied. "I pay in cash."

"You'll be in room 815 on the top floor," he replied. She headed up to her room and unpacked her things. Suddenly, she heard her cellphone ring.

"Hi Blackie, Deadpool here, congratulations on the kiddo, that GuardianSoulBlade put you in a crossover eh?" he laughed.

"Wade what are you talking about?" Natasha replied, deeply annoyed.

"C'mon, you don't know you're in a fanfic? And tell GSB to turn off that OneRepublic music, she plays it on repeat—"

Natasha hung up the phone, what was that crazy nutbar rambling on about anyway?

She heard the cellphone ring again, "Wade if you're screwing with me—"

"Hello Black Widow," a voice spoke to her over the cellphone.

"Frank?! What are you doing here?!" Natasha demanded, she was surprised to hear from him.

"I decided to drop in, especially since it's your birthday," Frank Castle replied. "Your tone tells me you're working now, I see."

"It's not like you like me or anything," Black Widow smirked.

"I respect you, that's all," Frank grumbled. "I brought you a present."

"Why would you bring me a present?" Black Widow inquired.

"It's Boss Zucco," Frank replied.

"Where are you?" Black Widow demanded.

"The docks, Pier 41," he replied. "I'll be waiting."

Black Widow arrived at Pier 41 she saw Frank Castle, the Punisher waiting for her.

"You came all this way to bring me Tony Zucco, but you kill for gangsters at a laundry mat, you think you could keep a low profile for once, and this city has its superheroes, they'll be after you."

"Don't particularly care for the Teen Titans, they just won't do what they need to, besides, I've been trying to find Zucco for a long time, if there's criminals I hate more than anything, it's mobsters. Come on in, see him for yourself."

Black Widow followed him inside the warehouse, she could see Tony Zucco tied up in a chair, he was covered in blood.

"You're enjoying this too much Frank," she noted.

"What happens to him is up to you, I've already made my decision," Punisher set his jaw.

"It doesn't really matter what I decide, you're gonna kill him anyway."

"Not yet, I want those kids to see him, see how ineffectual they really are."

"You just want to fight them," Black Widow glared at him.

"Yes, especially Robin, I heard he's good, just like his mother."

"Yeah," Black Widow's voice dripped with sarcasm, "Just like his mother."


	2. Mercenary Work

**Mercenary Work**

**_Author's Note:_**_ [Dialogue inside translated from Russian]._

* * *

She had to wonder when they'd show up; Natasha Romanoff pondered the situation she was in. She had killed before, but it was part of her job as a spy, and even as a mercenary, the jobs she took would sometimes mean that people died, but it wasn't personal, and she had a code, she didn't want to kill people, but Tony Zucco was different.

Natasha didn't normally take things personally, but sometimes she did, like when the mysterious cabal known as Chaos tried to kill her lawyer, she'd gone after them with a kill list and everything she had at her disposal, but Tony Zucco was deeply personal to her, she'd had husbands who were divorced or dead, but this was different.

She wanted nothing better than to put bullets in Zucco's skull for stealing John Grayson away from her.

She was about to say something to Frank when her phone rang.

"Meet me downtown," Nick Fury told her, she couldn't refuse him. Tony Zuccco would have to wait.

"Well Nat, you'll be busy in Jump City, and not just with Slade," Nick handed her a folder.

"Yuri Karanov, you know who he is Natasha?" Nick Fury asked.

"He's Russian mob, currently runs the drug trade in Jump City," Natasha replied, "Never met him in person. Why do you ask?"

"Department of Homeland Security contacted me, said he's planning a bombing, hoping to blame it on Muslim terrorists, drawing heat away from his operation, they requested your assistance because you're in town. You have permission to use any means necessary. They're hiring you and contacted your lawyer, they'll be happy to pay your fee." Nick informed her.

"Have HS contact Isaiah, he'll make all the arrangements," Natasha glanced over at him.

"Give me the intel, and all of it Fury, I hate it when you leave me in the dark on purpose!" Natasha snapped.

"Okay, Yuri Karanov hired a bomber, Shurik Ivanko to set bombs in various locations around Jump City, set them off and everyone assumes it's Muslim terrorists, throw the cops off their tail, everyone chases Al-Quaeda and the Taliban and the Russians go back to their business."

"And Homeland Security, what do they want me to do?" Natasha asked.

"Take them out by any means necessary, the last thing we need is another 9/11. And Natasha, I heard Yuri loves Russian ballet."

"Don't worry Nick; you'll see Shurik Ivanko and Yuri Karanov in a body bag," Natasha Romanoff told him, she headed off to start work.

* * *

The Titans shot open the door of the warehouse at Pier 41, the Punisher; Frank Castle was waiting for them.

"Took you kids long enough," Frank scowled at them.

"You aren't killing more people, not in my city!" Robin snapped.

"Ironically kid, I'm doing this for you!" Frank snapped. "I know who you are, and all of this is for your family, especially your mother!"

"What do you mean? What about my mother?" Robin asked in disbelief.

"She never told you, huh? Too bad, you should find her, she just ran off five minutes ago."

"I don't believe you!" Robin retorted, brandishing his bo staff.

"You're going down!" Cyborg shouted.

"You can fight me or save him!" The Punisher fired his gun; it happened so fast, Robin couldn't react to it. He saw a body drop, the Titans ran to the victim.

"Starfire, Raven, stop the bleeding, Cyborg call the ambulance!" Robin ordered.

Robin launched four birdarangs at The Punisher, hoping to knock him off balance, he retaliated by firing his gun at them, breaking them, he threw down a flash/bang grenade. Robin halted and covered his eyes, after the smoke cleared and the light was gone he ran outside, the Punisher was nowhere to be seen.

The Punisher escaped, and the Titans were left alone with the body of his victim.

"Tony Zucco!" Robin exclaimed in shocked surprise. Zucco had died shortly after being brought to justice by Batman and Robin, at least, that's what he thought, apparently, he'd faked his death and had been living somewhere, not that it had done him any good.

"Why does this day suck so bad?" Robin growled to the heavens. "It can't get any worse."

Frank Castle sprinted away from the warehouse, seeing the boy had been interesting, but with Black Widow in town, he might want to stay in her good graces and not fight her son with her around.

"Natasha, I didn't fight him," Frank told her over the phone.

"And why not? I thought it's what you wanted."

"I'd rather not have you coming after me," Frank replied, "Perhaps some other time, when you're not around."

"Cute Frank. You'd better not stick around or he'll find you."

"I'm gone, Black Widow," he told her. "You should be proud of your son, he's a good boy."

"I already am."

* * *

Yuri Karanov had a habit of visiting the Russian ballet in Jump City, he found himself an unlimited supply of girls, and tonight was no different, he could seduce them easily and then do with them whatever he wished, bending them to his will was easy enough.

A particular girl caught his eye, she was the most incredible ballet dancer he'd seen, such beauty and grace would fetch him a tidy profit. He watched her dance and he knew; he'd have this one. He made his way backstage after the performance.

Yuri Karanov glanced over at the ballerinas, he saw the tall woman with stunning black hair, and wore a pair of black glasses. She had a perfect figure, she would no doubt be flattered by his attentions and very willing to go to bed with him, after all, he was rich and many immigrants from his homeland were looking for the "American Dream".

He had plans for this girl; he could use her as his personal sex slave or sell her to the highest bidder. Who would believe her? She didn't speak English so any help would be hard for her to find.

He gently took her hand and kissed it. ["You were lovely tonight,"] he complimented her. She blushed and glanced away.

["Thank you sir, it's nice to see someone from home."] she replied.

["Ah, don't worry about it, are you doing well here in America?"] Yuri prodded; he'd have no problem ensnaring this one.

["I make decent money, but it's not nearly enough,"] Natasha sighed. ["I can barely make ends meet."]

["I could hire you, I have need of a…secretary,"] he leaned in close, brushing his lips against hers.

["I don't know anything about that,"] she pressed herself against the wall.

["I'll teach you, I'll teach you all sorts of things, my dear!"] he kissed her deeply, greedily, running is fingers through her hair. ["What's your name beautiful?"]

["Natalia Shostakova,"] Natasha replied, Yuri was so gullible, she wondered how many people bought this sob story of hers.

["Let me change out of these clothes, then we can return to my hotel room,"] Natasha whispered breathlessly.

["Very well, Natalia, please, don't keep me waiting,"] Yuri smiled, she left and changed into a revealing dress, his mouth watered as they left the building and returned to her hotel.

They kissed again as he began to aggressively touch and fondle her, Natasha hid her disgust, she exaggerated her sounds of pleasure as she let him shove her into her bed, she'd have to endure him for a few more minutes and then she'd have him right where she wanted him.

* * *

["Too bad, Yuri, you're not much of a lover; my dead husband didn't pass out from exhaustion after an orgasm,"] Natasha smirked; she dressed quietly then held a knife to his throat.

["What are you—?"] he sputtered, she crammed chloroform over his mouth and he passed out. She dressed him and took him out to an airplane; she tied his wrists to the seats as she put him in the kneeling position. She took off and pushed a button and sent the plane into auto pilot.

Yuri Karanov awoke with a start; he glanced up as the beautiful ballerina he'd screwed last night stared at him, now dressed head to toe in black, he saw the hourglass symbol on her belt and now she had long fiery red hair and a scowl on her face.

["It can't be you!"] he exclaimed in horror. ["The Slavic Shadow! The Red Death!"]

["Yuri Karanov, we need to talk,"] Natasha glared at him. ["Where are the bombs you planted in Jump City?"] She removed a knife and showed it to him. ["Where's Shurik Ivanko your hired bomber?"]

["Screw you, you whore!"] Yuri snarled at her.

["But you already have, and you weren't good at it either, tell me what you know."] Natasha smirked.

["I know nothing!"] he retorted defiantly.

["_Everyone_ always says that. It's a ridiculous thing to say."]

Natasha had a thoughtful expression on her face. ["Let's pretend you know nothing. And let's be honest about how intelligent and experienced you are Karanov."]

Natasha looked down at him, pointing the small knife at his chest, ["No one knows _nothing_. Especially when facing _unbearable levels_ of pain."] She cut him, not deeply, but she knew how to cause him an enormous amount of pain from small, shallow cuts.

["I don't know where Shurik is! But I know he placed his bombs on six or seven major landmarks!"]

["Where are they?!"] Natasha demanded.

["The park, the bank, the pier, the fairground, the shopping district, the mine and Titans Tower! That's all I know I swear!"]

["Titans Tower, how would he be able to plant something there?"] Natasha demanded, that was her son's _home_, and she suspected, you couldn't just go into Titans Tower unannounced.

["He disguised himself as a construction worker and planted the bomb; they don't even know it's there."]

["I see, when will they go off?"] Natasha glared at him.

Natasha cut his bonds with her knife; she forced him to his feet, pushing him towards the plane door.

["I don't know! You'll have to find Shurik!"] Yuri protested fearfully. She forced him to keep moving.

She shoved a parachute into his hands.

["Well that's something,"] She kept moving towards him as he backed away.

["You can't stop the bombs, my plans will succeed!"]

["Do you know how to use a parachute?"] Natasha asked.

["No,"] Yuri replied.

Natasha raised her foot, ["I hope you're a faster learner then."] She kicked him out the plane door.

She saw his body plummeting with no sign of the parachute, it's not like she didn't give him a way out, she saw a small red splat on the ground, no one was going to miss him.

"One down, one to go!" She piloted the plane back to the Jump City airport.

* * *

The Titans arrived at the Tower, they were about to enter the common room when Raven stopped them, "I sense someone in the room!" she whispered. They readied their weapons, bursting into the room.

Sitting in a chair at one of their computers was a stunningly beautiful woman.

Robin stopped, he recognized her, "Black Widow, I heard you had retired."

"Dude, she's so pretty," Beast Boy commented.

"What are you doing here?" Cyborg asked for all of them.

"I'm here on S.H.I.E.L.D. business, I request that you don't interfere with my work," she smiled politely.

"Your work involves killing people," Starfire noted, "We do not approve of that."

"I didn't come here for your approval Starfire, if you're unhappy about my presence please talk to Director Fury."

"Why did you come here?" Raven asked, she could sense the woman's emotions, she seemed…happy about something, she didn't think someone like Black Widow could _be_ happy. Emotionally, she felt that they were similar somehow.

"To inform you that I am working here until further notice," Black Widow told them.

"But why?" Robin demanded.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. has tasked me with bringing Slade Wilson, Deathstroke into their custody. That's why I'm here."

"I really don't think I could work with you," Robin told her, "But don't think I condone the fact that you murder people, Black Widow."

"I'm a killer [little Robin], I'm not a murderer."

Robin does a double take.

"It's semantics, you still take other people's lives. The only reason you're not in jail, is because you're too valuable as an Avenger," Robin snapped. "I don't know how you consider yourself to be a hero."

"You live in a black and white world, I live in a very gray one, but you'll understand someday, but I'm happy you are a better person than I am. I'm not a hero, I never called myself one."

She got up and turned away from them, "Where are you going?"

"To stop seven bombs from going off in your city, I have their locations, but I don't know when they go off, here," she handed Robin a piece of paper, "are their locations, you can help me disarm them, but I'll find the bomber, Homeland Security wants him dead, and I intend to do that, and you won't stop me."

"I can try!" Robin snapped, suddenly, he was hit in the stomach, she moved so fast, the others were trying to get to her, but he saw her use her incredible acrobatics to avoid all of them.

[_"I love you little Robin, stay out of my way!"_] she whispered in his ear, Robin was too stunned to move.

Natasha threw down a smoke grenade and vanished.

"Robin, are you all right?" Starfire asked.

"It's not possible!" he said to himself. "It's not possible!"

"I can't believe she broke into the Tower," Cyborg snapped. "She's never doing that again!"

"Dude, where's she learn how to do all that?" Beast Boy asked himself.

"She's too dangerous, how does S.H.I.E.L.D. trust her?" Raven pondered.

"Dude, what's impossible?" Beast Boy asked.

"She called me little Robin during our conversation," he told Beast Boy.

"Dude, only your Mom called you that. Wait are you saying—that she's your mother?!"

"I don't know Beast Boy, I watched her die, Punisher said he knew my mother, if my mother's Black Widow then it would make sense, and I heard she retired a long time ago, before I was born. But where's she been for five years?"

"How will you know if she's telling the truth?" Raven asked.

"I'm going to find Nick Fury, and he's going to tell me everything!"


	3. Unforeseen Problems

**Unforeseen Problems**

Robin gazes down at the paper in horror, all these locations, popular hotspots filled with people and hidden bombs set to go off.

"Scour Titans Tower and Titans Island, now!" he ordered.

They scowaered the island, Starfire found it, "It is attached to the bottom of the Tower!"

"Starfire, rip it out and toss it into the Ocean, and check for the timer!"

"But if I break the cords it could go off!" she protested.

"Just rip out that section of the wall!" Robin ordered.

Starfire tore out the wall and picked up the bomb, "There is a timer; it has a date set for two days from now!"

Starifre flew far away from the Tower and dropped the bomb into the ocean.

She flew back to the Tower, "The bomb is disposed of, but there are more, should we go out and find them?"

"I'd say yes, we need to disarm them, I don't care if it takes all night!" Robin ordered.

"Right!" the Titans replied. They each headed to the locations, scattering and trying to search for the bombs, but they were all very tired and trying to fight off sleep.

"Robin!" Raven exclaimed in horror, "The bombs timers have been accelerated! They only have five minutes!"

"Get the citizens out of there!" Robin ordered.

Each Titan began giving orders to citizens, ordering them to evacuate because of the bombs, people began screaming, running away in panic, Beast Boy tried to pull the bomb out of the wall, but none of the animals he could shift into could pull it out.

Cyborg tried to cut the wires, only to find that he'd cut the wrong one, Raven immediately formed a shiledd around the bomb, hoping to contain the blast. Starfire ripped out another bomb and flew it to the harbor, but it was still too far away, so she went straight up, taking it as high as she could, hoping that the impact wouldn't be felt below.

Robin gazed in horror as he attempted the freeze the bomb, there was thirty seconds left...fifteen...ten...

He was mortified; the Teen Titans had failed to protect their city.

Unexpectedly, the timer stopped at five seconds. Robin breathed a huge sigh of relief as he quickly dismantled the explosive.

He gazed up at the sky, "Thanks mom." He was so grateful to have her in the city, at that moment, he didn't care about black and white, good and evil, or moral codes, she'd saved the city and it was enough for him.

* * *

Shurik Ivanko arrived home from his favorite bar, he'd been out drinking and sulking, his employer Yuri Karanov hadn't paid him yet, it was irritating and after all the effort it took to gather materials and create his bombs. He had done well but the Russian weasel had tricked him.

He didn't even see Natasha as he entered the room, but felt her hit him as she slammed him into the wall.

"Aaah!" he screamed in surprise.

She pointed her gun in his face.

"Who are you?" Shurik asked fearfully.

"It doesn't matter. I'm just one of the bad guys, I just want you to stop the bombs, if you don't I'll kill you, simple as that."

["No Mr. Ivanko, we'll kill you first,"] a Russian man said to him, he and his goons aimed their guns at them.

["Oh, hey there fellas. You come to fix the toilet?"] Natasha sarcastically asked the band of 20 Russian gangsters all pointing their guns at her.

They opened fire, Natasha avoided the fire, yanking Shurik out of the way and returned fire.

Natasha pushed Shurik behind cover, "Dismantle the bombs, stop the timers! Now!" She pointed the gun at his head to motivate him. Shurik did as she said and turned off the timers with his laptop. She suddenly shot him in the head, letting him slump over, she threw down a smoke grenade through her wrist cartridges and rushed in as the Russian gangsters were disoriented.

She avoided gunshots with a handspring and garroted the nearest gangster, choking the life out of him as she used his body to shield herself from more gunfire.

She slammed her open fist into one of the men's faces as she hit him with the butt of her empty gun.

["'Sokay, I got more,"] she told them as she quickly reloaded her handgun. Slamming the pistol butt into his face. He hit the floor.

["Wait! Wait! Wait! I Can get you money!"] The man on the floor begged.

["I don't give a crap!"] Natasha snapped. As if she could be bribed with something as fleeting as money.

["I have money! Clean! Government rewards—!"] He panicked.

["I don't give a—"] Natasha prepared to pull the trigger.

["I KNOW WHERE SLADE IS! AND THE COURT TOO!"]

["Okay, _**now**_ you have my full attention,"] Natasha lowered the gun a little, the man began to talk and boy did he talk.

* * *

The Titans arrived back at the Tower, Robin had too much of an adrenaline rush to sleep.

"Dude, let's look up stuff about your mom!" Beast Boy suggested as Robin sat at his computer.

"C'mon man, you know you want to!" Cyborg laughed.

Robin looked up her name, and was in awe of the information on his mother.

Robin gazed at the screen, stunned and silent. His mother, if he could believe anything he was reading was an experienced spy, a covert operative and a former assassin for the KGB.

One thing struck him about her, particularly a YouTube video of a Senate hearing.

"Agent, you should know that there are some on this committee who feel given your service record, both for this country and against it, that you belong in a penitentiary, not mouthing off on Capital Hill."

"You're not going to put me in a prison; you're not going to put any of us in a prison. You know why?"

"Do enlighten us," the committee member commented sarcastically.

"Because you need us. Yes, the world is a vulnerable place, and yes, we helped make it that way. But we're also the ones best qualified to defend it, so if you want to arrest me, arrest me. You'll know where to find me."

Robin's mouth dropped open a little as he watched his mother saunter out of the senate chambers followed by a sea of photographers and press.

"Dude, your mom is amazing!" Beast Boy laughed.

"Rob, have you even looked up half your mother's exploits? Wow!" Cyborg stared at his iPad in awe, "Her work with the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D., she was director?!"

"Guys I don't know what to think, honestly. She's just so different from what I remember about her. I'm just really disturbed by the high body count she has. I heard stories about the Black Widow, that people who are hired to kill her end up dead."

"You know we don't condone her actions, but she's saved the world a hundred times over," Cyborg reminded him. "Her morals are different from ours, but she doesn't like killing people, she's just been trained to do that, and that's not an excuse for what she's done, we just can't put her into a category labeled "criminal" and treat her like we treat all the others. She's done a lot of legit work."

"She doesn't seem like the type of person to _be_ your mom," Beast Boy pointed out.

"What are you going to do Robin?" Starfire asked curiously. "She saved our city, and we know it."

"Unfortunately, she's under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s sanction, if she kills it's part of her mission, she works for the government and we can't get in the way," Raven sighed. "You know Robin, she was very happy to see you earlier tonight."

"I know, now I need to talk to Director Fury," Robin told them.

"That won't be necessary Robin," Natasha's voice told them, they whirled around in surprise.

"How do you keep getting in here?" Beast Boy asked curiously.

"The front door," she laughed.

"It figures the door would let her in," Cyborg sighed. The door only opened for Titan DNA and since she was Robin's mother, she'd have DNA that would open the door.

Dick Grayson realized how much he'd missed his mother's smile and laughter.

Robin spotted his mother, wearing a Tiffany Hearts arrow pendant, he didn't ever remember seeing her wear one, but then he remembered his mother's vast history in espionage and heroism. There was only one man who she associated with who used a bow and arrow, Cliff Barton.

Robin knew he'd have to talk to her about her extensive love life, but not right now.

"Besides Slade, why are you still here?" Robin asked.

"I have a list of names, locations, people, a blacklist. People I need to deal with. That sounds exciting! That's why we're all here, of course. My wish list, a list I've been cultivating for over 20 years: politicians, mobsters, hackers, spies. Bad people who need to be brought down, taken out, whatever you want to call it, and I'd like your resources, nothing more Titans."

"Why would you want our help?" Robin asked, his personal relationship with her aside, this was business.

"Because a monster is in your city, it's been here for years, it's just been sleeping, but now it's going to wake up. It's bigger than you guys and even Slade."

"What is it mom?" Robin asked.

_"Beware the Court of Owls, that watches all the time, ruling Gotham from a shadowed perch, behind granite and lime. They watch you at your hearth, they watch you in your bed, speak not a whispered word of them, or they'll send the Talon for your head."_

"It's a nursery rhyme, a bedtime story to scare children," Robin told his mother, he'd heard the story for years, but in all his work with Batman, he'd not seen anything, not one sign of the Court of Owls.

"Son, in Russia, _I'm_ a scary story told to kids at night, in Gotham so are you and Batman. The Court of Owls exists and I've been watching them for years."

"In Soviet Russia, there was a story circulated among the spies that when they tried to infiltrate Gotham City, a team of covert operatives were slaughtered by a giant bird. I've checked into it and they called it a Talon, for years I couldn't find out what it meant, until I met your father at Haly's Circus."

She smiled at him, "But enough of that now, we'll discuss work tomorrow. Now—" she moved to enfold Robin in a gentle hug. "I just want to make up for lost time."

He wrapped his arms around her, embracing her tightly. "I missed you, mom! So much!"

"I know little Robin, I know. I love you."

"Love you too, Mom."

There wasn't a dry eye in the room.

* * *

It was broad daylight, under a hot bridge in Jump City, two construction workers glanced over at each other, they were hanging off the side of the bridge.

"Cal, hey Calvin, you okay?" John asked, curious. They'd been friends for years, they worked together, Calvin knew John's son, and they'd been the rising stars of their profession.

"Yeah John, I'm fine," Calvin Rose replied.

They'd also done the impossible; they'd escaped the Court of Owls, together.

"How are Sara and Casey?" John asked.

"They're fine and hiding in the city, like I told them," Calvin told him. "We're going to hit the Court, hard, we're going to take their money, that's what they love most."

"Casey cooked up this plan with Sebastian Clark, I don't trust him, something about him is off. I don't like it. Not one bit," John warned Calvin.

"John, are you going to find Natasha? Are you going to tell her about the Court of Owls?" Calvin asked curiously, trying to get his friend's attention. "Grayson?"

John had told Calvin everything when they were down in the labyrinth together, the Court had made an odd exception to their rules and let them team up to take on the previous Talon.

During those three days, John had told Calvin about his wife, just her first name, nothing about the Avengers until they had escaped the Labyrinth.

"I don't need to tell her about the Court of Owls, Cal, she knows, she knew everything when she married me, she knew all about them and she still chose me."

"Your wife has horrible taste in men," Calvin teased him.

"Cal, shut up!" John Grayson growled.

"She's been fighting them for years, but they never knew it was her, but she's not done with them yet, she told me a long time ago, she was going to destroy them, but she's not like you, Calvin, you want them in jail, she's going to _kill_ them, _all_ of them."

"How come she didn't declare all out war on them?"

"Because of Dick, she'd put him in danger, and she didn't want that. I wanted to do something, especially since she discovered the Court chose Dick for their next Talon, but she said she'd only strike when she was ready. It's going to be bad when she does, because a lot of bad guys are gonna die."

"Do you know where she is now?" Calvin glanced over at John.

"I don't know, but we'll find each other somehow, we always do."

They noticed a man near the top of the bridge, it looked like he was about to jump.

They both rushed to stop him, suddenly; the man was hit by a dozen throwing knives.

"No! Not you!" Calvin hissed.

The Talon began to laugh, "You both thought you could run away and hide? The Court of Owls will always find you. You both can never be free. The Court has plans for you both, especially you Mr. Grayson."

John embedded a pair of throwing knives in the Talon's eyes, "Go crawl back to the Court and tell them, they're not hunting me, I'm hunting them!"

John kicked the Talon off the bridge and into the water below.

* * *

_**Author's Note: Yes, RACHEL, now you've seen everything.**_


End file.
